A Notice of the second Rwanda expedition
arrived unexpectedly, leaving me very little time to prepare for the trip. The morning of
departure found me and my family gathered at the breakfast table. While my wife Nadia and
I discussed last minute details, my young daughters planned excitedly for gifts Daddy
should bring them from Rwanda: a monkey and a parrot!

On August 22, 1997, the Minister of Emergency Situations And Civil
Defense of Russia (EMERCOM) notified me and three co-workers to prepare to leave for
Rwanda immediately. Passports and other travel papers were arranged that same evening.
Communication equipment we needed to make repairs had been sent ahead, and was already
waiting for us in Rwanda. In any event, I had prepared to take with me an emergency set of
equipment: a hand-held VHF radio “FT-51RH” with a spare batteries and charger, an HF
transceiver “IC-706” with an "AT-180" antenna tuner, HY-GAIN Multi-band
Dipole (3-30 MHz) and a KAM-7plus TNC. This emergency kit weighted between 10 and13 Kilos!

The stay in Africa was to be a long one, from August 1997 through
February 1998. The maintenance of the EMERCOM communication equipment would take place in
uncivilized conditions high in the mountains Central Africa where there is much political
instability. The responsibility of a successful trip was laid squarely on me.

The flight was long and tiring. From Moscow we flew to Zurich,
Switzerland, where we laid over for 8 hours before boarding a Boeing jet for the final leg
to Nairobi, Kenya. We traveled to the capital of Rwanda in Kigali early in the morning
where we were met by the EMERCOM advance team that had arrived in Rwanda previous April.
We traveled a long distance by Land-Rover heading south, arriving at our destination
located close to the equator, an area where the borders of Burundi, Zaire and Rwanda meet.

Rwanda is approximately the same size as New York State and is
mountainous, with an average altitude of 1500-2000 meters above sea level. Our compound,
located at about 2400-2500 meters above sea level, provided us with an impressive panorama
of the surrounding mountains, all densely covered with lush vegetation. Except for the
real and dangerous presence of diseases such as malaria and AIDS, Rwanda reminded me of
Switzerland.

In Rwanda, there is no such thing as the four seasons. The rainy season
is from September through February, which is followed by the dry season. In spite of the
high altitude, there is no snowfall. Most days begin and end with the hot African sun
shining relentlessly down from a cloudless pale blue sky. There are occasional rainstorms,
but too few to mention.

“MUZUNGU” is Rwandan for “a man without skin” (meaning me!).
The locals joked about me becoming “carbonized.” More than once I suffered from the
painful effects of “carbonization” after too much exposure to the harsh African sun.

Danger presents itself in the most unexpected ways in Rwanda. Lie down
under a particularly attractive, red-leafed tree to escape the day time heat and you can
almost guarantee yourself a trip to the hospital! Known to the locals as “death of the
white person,” the tree induces some sort of allergic reaction. Fortunately, there
aren’t a lot of those trees around.

Engrossed in thought, you may not notice a small mosquito feasting on
your blood -- not until later, when malaria sets in. Or walk barefoot across the grass and
receive a form of “fellarioz,” an invasion by microscopic parasites that devour humans
from within. Stroke one of the many varieties of fluffy African caterpillar and you may
end up with a raging allergic reaction!

The local population in most cases is immune to these disorders. To
them, malaria is like an minor cold, but MUZUNGU is not so fortunate!

We were so busy with work, we were unable to see much of the local
sites in Rwanda. However we were able to visit the palace of the former Rwandan King, now
a memorial for the victims of the 1994 genocide.

The inter-tribal conflicts between the Huttu and Tutsi in 1994 resulted
in the tragic extermination of approximately two million people, including many of the
adult males, leaving behind a population consisting mainly of young people. Only
peacekeepers of international forces brought a halt to this bloody war.

Both birth and mortality rates in the region are rather high. Few
manage to live past age 50. Families commonly average 5 to 8 children each.

The Rwandan army consists of young volunteers who serve their entire
lives. Most of the population is extremely patriotic, even to the point of fanaticism. The
people are hardworking and good-natured. Main language of the country is Keni-Rwanda, and
the official one is French. The country is agrarian and the majority of the population is
engaged in agriculture growing coffee, bananas, potatoes and other African exotic foods.

After our first six months of work in Rwanda much had changed. Nothing
happened there in April. Now at the entrance to our camp a separate field mast showed off
in all its beauty a triband HY-GAIN "TH-3mk4" Yagi antenna. It has withstood all
the foul weather successfully, including a tornado!

Our residential complex consisted of a store building, a 9X0A radio
room and the equipment room that contained various other communication equipment (HF, VHF,
satellite, amateur and office equipment; two computers; a copier, fax machine and a laser
printer). Outside there were antennas nearby, consisting of the previously described
short-wave three-element Yagi, and also a VHF collinear Cushcraft Ground plane antenna.
Located between two high trees a was broadband dipole stretched for HF communications
(similar to a “T2FD”) with a passive load, and two independent aerials on 40 and 80,
the “Inverted V” type. (Incidentally, the Hy-Gain antenna on 80 meters worked really
well though a major fault appeared to be a very narrow frequency range of only 10-15 kHz.)

Among all this equipment in radio room was a special place for a Yaesu
HF "FT-900" transceiver with a "FP-800" power supply unit, a "2KD
Classic" 1.5 kW amplifier by Henry Radio. On the first visit I conducted more than
10000 QSO using 9X/RW3AH callsign, and on the second visit, operating for two months with
new 9X0A call – for which I waited for six months -- more than 17000 QSO were made,
representing over 150 countries of the world. Very little remained to work on 40 and 80 to
complete a "5BDXCC" award.

All this was of the time I wrote this article. Obviously, by the end of
this mission, the number of QSOs and countries will be much higher.

The story about getting the amateur license in Rwanda would take hours
and needs a separate narration, as it isn’t all that interesting. The red tape lingered
for six months, as I already noted, and has taken a lot of my time. I am thankful to the
representatives of the Embassy of Russian Federation in Rwanda and to the local
authorities for their assistance.

The equipment performance surpassed all of my expectations. The HF
propagation here differs a lot from that which we usually notice in a Central part of
Russia. 20 meters band is saturated with stations from all continents practically around
the clock. Only in the middle of a day or early morning does it slightly dip. The peak of
propagation is during the evening, when the stations of Japan, the USA, and especially of
Europe come in loud and clear. In one evening I conducted the original experiment. During
a pile-up on 20, I periodically interrogated stations of all continents. It felt very
strange to receive identical reports of “59” from all over. It was highly amusing to
hear stations of Oceania fighting the pile-ups with stations of Europe, Northern, Central
and South America. A discussion of propagation found in Central Africa follows.

160m. band - Because I didn’t have an antenna for this band it was
hard to do an objective evaluation there. Sometimes, on the 80 meter antenna in the middle
of the night I could hear audible signals coming from Ukraine and Russia.

80m. band - The band opens up at approximately 19 GMT. The short path
opens to Australia and Japan (approximately for an hour), sometimes, the stations from
Europe would come in with booming signals, mostly Big Guns. At 21 GMT the band opens up to
North America, and soon after - to Central and South America, including the Caribbean. The
reception is difficult because of the ever-present noise from the equatorial
thunder-storms - QRN year round. By morning a band becomes quieter, but not by much.
Decent strength signals from Africa, North and Central America can be heard. By this time
my correspondents, as a rule, can no longer hear the Central part of Africa. It is my
impression that path unilateral. Europe ceases to answer my calls, and the US signals are
very faint.

40m. band - Starting with approximately 16 GMT it is possible to work
somebody. At this time the path opens to Europe, Russia and Japan. Some correspondents
like UA9AJ can be heard in 9X with a level 59 + from 15 GMT on. It’s all depends on the
antenna. By night the band is busy with Europeans. Japan and even of Oceania are coming in
with the same signal strength. At midnight the path sharply changes in the direction of
North and South America. American signals are a pleasant surprise, especially in SSB.
Operating split allowed me to run huge pile-ups. At one o'clock it is sometimes possible
to work 160, mostly with the USA. By morning the band folds, though South America
continues to come in faintly. An amazing number of radio stations was worked from many
South American countries. There was a moment when about 50 stations from Paraguay called
in at once. During the day this band becomes a local band. There is a large number of
commercial radio stations operating phone there. Their signals aren’t loud, as most of
them operate as mobiles. Mostly, these belong to international missions and Red Cross
workers driving their “Land-Rovers” somewhere in Africa. They can be heard from every
corner of the African continent.

20m. band - As I noted earlier, the band is opened around the clock to
most parts of the world. The openings are stronger in the evenings, at 18 GMT the
Europeans are booming in with an Arctic flutter, much like American signals in the
European part of Russia coming through a polar cap. It is difficult to say what brings
about this phenomena. Perhaps, this is something that is caused by local conditions. The
openings are tremendous, extending from the northern tip of Alaska to the south-most point
of Cape Horn. In the morning, at approximately 4 GMT Long Path to VK/ZL and Oceania opens
up. During the day the band is appreciably worse, but it does not fold. Europe can be
heard, but not loud. At this time they don’t hear me very well. Some days, more an
exception than the rule, the short path is closed. Fortunately, it’s a rare occasion.

15m. band - This is the best African band, together with other
conventional bands and WARC 17 meter. The openings last from morning until late evening.
The band is similar to 20 meter band, but is not subject to QRN and QSB. The US stations
are worked in the afternoon. The stations of Oceania and Japan prevail first half of the
day. Europeans can be heard all day and evening with decent signals.

10m. band - I have developed an impression that this band is always
alive. From morning till late at night one can hear QRM from CB stations on all
frequencies in this band. I could not determine where the signals were coming from,
because I did not understand the language. However, without a doubt it was coming from
South East Asia. Not enough ham stations are operating there. Because of that one might
think that the band is closed. It is necessary to call CQ to open up the band. Some
nights, starting at 20 GMT, the band is a busy beehive of North American stations. All
this is during the period of minimum solar activity! Interestingly enough, there is a band
opening to the European part of Russia at this time, but as a rule most Russian hams are
either fast asleep or conducting 80m contacts among themselves.

CB- 27 MHz. - My simpathy goes to the fans of this band. Strangely,
this band is always open. The wall of QRM never ceases. I am no expert in the field of CB
communications.

Together with the time spend playing radio, I was involved in the round tables of
the Russian Amateur radio Emergency Service (RARES), on 14.292, at 07, 14 and 19 GMT. It
was necessary for several reasons. The chief concern was for the safety of our staff in
Rwanda, an area of increased risk. Political situation in the country is far from stable.
Therefore telecommunications remain the most basic element of safety for missions similar
to ours. The Amateur Radio channel of communications was and is a unique way to
disseminate important information in case of extreme emergencies for EMERCOM of Russia.
RARES closely cooperates with EMERCOM, starting from our involvement with the rescue work
after the Armenian earthquake in 1988.

Never throughout my stay in Africa had I failed to make contact with the members RARES
round table, it was that reliable and selfishless work by the regional coordinators of
RARES - RA0AF, UA9SH, RN6AA, RU3ABD and auxiliary members

who, at any time, frequently to the detriment to their own lives, are ready
to extend their helping hands to others. RE0A, RK6AZR, RZ1AWE, RA3AK. RA3AR, UA9HEZ,
UU1JD, RX9AV, RU3AO, RK3AH, RK3AO, RK3AZ, RU3AG, UA6ADV, UA6CL, RK3ZZZ, UA3BT, and many
others. Thank you all for you help and invaluable support!

From the beginning of my African tour I tried to enter as many contest
as my time allowed. Unfortunately, in the CT-K1EA contest program was missing many tests,
and I didn’t have another piece of software available. I had to operate and later modify
report manually. I also used CT for my daily logging. It worked great for both SSB and CW,
and I was very happy with the conveniences and reliability it offered.

I have fond memories of the RTTY WW DX Contest, which I operated successfully, even
though I had my official duties to attend to.

I had conducted more than 700 QSOand earned about 500K points.For
many- 9X isn’t only the long-awaited multiplier, but new country for DXCC.Most
of my equipment survived the strenuous contest conditions. Only my Henry 2KD Classic
failed me once - an antenna relay went. With an unpleasant surprise had I discovered that
this particular brand of relay really wasn’t designed to handle hi-power HF currents.
Ultimately that relay was most susceptible to failure in my entire communication setup. I
had to circumvent the problem temporarily, by using an extra receiving antenna.

There was no way to purchase such a relay, or something functionally similar in this
part of Africa.The friends to the rescue!Harry - RA3AUU, sent a relay
using Express mail via the US and I got it in Rwanda.Almost at the same time,
Vladimir, RA3AK collected a small parcel of various radio parts and sent them through
RU3ABD and representatives of “EMERCOM” of Russia. For that I am very grateful to all
of them. The problems associated with equipment are quite natural, when the equipment is
utilized to its fullest potential.

It was also necessary to establish a way communicate on digital modes,
to pass along personal messages and to make amateur contacts. This wasn’t difficult to
do - I brought a packet controller. By evaluating my present operating conditions and by
listening to the local airwaves I have concluded that the most reliable way to do it would
be PACTOR. My first regular BBS on 20m. was - ZS5S, 9K2EC. For my packet communications an
invaluable assistance was provided by UA6CL from Novorossijsk. However, the packet channel
of communication wasn’t very stable due to local QRN, and weak signals from UA6CL’s
BBS in central Africa. A most unexpected opening allowed me access into the digital PACTOR
in Belgium - ON5FS. This afforded me access into European packet network. PACTOR
communications through ZS5S BBS permitted E-mail message exchange via Internet access
point in South Africa. My experience in the field of packet communication from Russia was
very useful in Africa.

It probably snows in Moscow by now. The first channel of the Russian TV
network, which we regularly watch here via satellite brings less than consoling weather
forecasts. It is cold over there. In August, when I left early morning from Moscow
“Sheremetyevo-2” airport and was seen off by Ark -RK3AZ, and Peter - RU3ABD, I was
dress in some very summer-like clothes. It didn’t occur to me to bring some warm
garments. How stupid of me! Now I would be very sorry to return home to February frosts!